Sunday, January 15, 2012 & Sunday, October 2nd, 2011
WHISPERS & SCREAMS
sexually explicit stories of sea urchins,
fire ants, and one night stands
A new play written by Haley K. Jude
directed by Sarah C. Lucier, Arielle Parkas and Gordon Farrell
Catie Taaffe, assistant director
Haley K. Jude is a writer based in San Francisco. She is also a sex workers' rights activist and an advocate for queer BDSM tolerance. "Whispers & Screams" is a set of short monologues Haley wrote recounting a range of her own experiences that she shares with audiences to promote understanding and acceptance of queer and sado-masochistic sexuality.
WHISPERS & SCREAMS...
is unusual in its uncompromising descriptions of extreme sexual experiences. Be warned that the material is explicit and the language is raw.
FEATURING:
Devin Cannon
Lex Briscuso
Katie Donovan
Chelsea LeSage
Megan Murphy
Michelle Rinehart
Catie Taaffe
Magen Young
Monica Wiles
November 13 and 20, 2011
INTO A RED BOX
five true stories from women running out of time
written and directed by Gordon Farrell
Catie Taaffe, assistant director
With INTO A RED BOX, Red Productions continued its three-year long project of adapting stories from real women to the stage, performing them in the intimate, intense environment of the Upstairs Cabaret at People Lounge.
INTO A RED BOX relates the true narratives of five real women from different decades of the 20th and 21st Centuries who made desperate, liberating and unexpected choices -- and are now living with the consequences.
As part of our ongoing project, "The Red Anthology," INTO A RED BOX is part of what Julia Pugachevsky in the Washington Square News described as an experience in which "stories of heartbreak, helplessness and crises of faith intertwine to form a cycle of self-discovery and reinvention. They create an atmosphere of vulnerability and honesty, a space of healing for all to see."
FEATURING:
Lauren Charnow as Irene
Devin Cannon as Young Sara
Adam P. Murphy as Prof. Pierce
Virginia Marcs as Laurel
Aria McKenna as Sara
Karl Girolamo as Michael
Magen Young as Katrina
Chelsea LeSage as Raven
November 13 and 20, 2010
People Lounge, 163 Allen Street (Stanton &
Rivington)
THRESHOLD
A new play created from the true stories of real women.
Directed by Arielle Parkas,
Tatiana Gelfand,
and Gordon Farrell
163 Allen Street (Stanton and Rivington)
With THRESHOLD, Red Productions returns to its tradition of bringing the stories of real women to the stage. The focus is on true stories from women in their late teens and early twenties -- stories of young women breaking society's rules and expectations, defying common sense and safety, in a struggle to define themselves and to grasp what it might mean, some day, to lead an emotionally fulfilling life.
The November, 2010, workshop cast included Marjory Collado as Bridget, Nicole Doring as Zoe, Kaci Jones as Katrina,Lauren Marangiello as Amanda, and Melody Waters as Elizabeth. It was directed by Tatiana Gelfand and Gordon Farrell.
In May 2011, THRESHOLD received its first fully staged production in the Upstairs Cabaret at People Lounge, directed by Arielle Parkas and Gordon Farrell. It will eventually become part of a trilogy called THE RED ANTHOLOGY, which the Washington Square News described as a theatre experience that is "rooted in reality... stories of heartbreak, helplessness and crises of faith intertwining to form a cycle of self-discovery and reinvention... Together, they create an atmosphere of vulnerability and honesty, a space of healing for all to see."
MAY 2011 PREMIERE PRODUCTION
Pictured from left to right:
Lauren Marangiello as Allison
Kelly Watson as Bridget
Kristen Brancaccio as Claire
Marjory Collado as Elizabeth
Catie Taaffe as Jewels
Nicole Doring as Zoe
Hannah Stampleman as Bridget (5/16, 5/23)
Stage Managers - Alexandra Kopko, Julia Frankfeldt
photos by Sabrina Asch
In March, 2011, Red Productions presented with
Opera Manhattan Repertory Theater
Georg Frideric Handel's
JULIUS CAESAR
Stage Director: Gordon Farrell
Music Director: Lloyd Arriola
In a
remarkable collaboration with New York's most cutting-edge opera company,
Opera Manhattan Theatre, a lean, fast-moving 90 minute-long re-staging of this
seldom performed piece was presented in the intimate environment of People Lounge, with
Julius Caesar: Vaughn Lindquist
Cleopatra: Laura Strickling
Ptolemy: Tyler Wayne Smith
Cornelia: Caroline Tye
Achilla: Duncan Hartman
Sesto: Elspeth Davis
Nirena: Roma di Marro
Chorus: Esha Datta, Cara Evans
Presented by Red Productions in association with Green Productions at People Lounge 163 Allen Street (Stanton & Rivington)
photos by James Oligney
6 Weeks in 2010
THE RED ANTHOLOGY:
Every Woman Dances Her Story
For six weeks in 2010, Red Productions continued developing its acclaimed show based on actual stories from real women, performed in an intimate environment by a talented cast of seven women and two men. Originally entitled "In The Red Room: Every Woman/Dances For Someone," this collection of dramatized stories ran for 15 weeks in 2009. Woven into a fabric of choral poems, monologues and scenes, the stories of The Red Anthology encompass challenges faced by mainstream women, as well as those who work in adult entertainment - even college students involved in the sex industry.
The Red Anthology is based on the idea that inside every woman, she dances. The dance is her story, revealed to a chosen few.
Directed by Tawnya Foskett
Written by Gordon Farrell
Associate Producer, Tatiana Gelfand
Dramaturg, Arielle Parkas
FEATURING:
Diana Avellino as Raven
Bethany Bagley as Claire
Julie Disher as Annabel
Lauren LoGiudice as Young Sara
Kyle Masteller as Michael
Aria McKenna as Sara
Ella Mische as Meg
Lucy-Jade Norris as Young Sara (May 3rd only)
Megan Ribar as Irene
Paul Young as Robert Pierce and Travis
"This rare play is a theater of no illusions. The Red Anthology is a revelatory piece about real
people telling real stories in an intimate setting. Gordon Farrell has created
a unique collection of astonishing narratives ." Arina
Vikdorchik, New York City Event Coordinator
"The Red Anthology brings the stories of real women to the stage. By taking multiple stories and crafting them into one cohesive vision, this play doesn't just look at women's problems, it hunts them down and stares them in the face. It encourages us to re-examine the way women are to be treated, touched and talked about. In a city that believes feminism reigns victorious, we are being shown that perhaps this ideology hasn't trickled down to the working class just yet. The Red Anthology discusses the private pains of real women in a way that honors them and allows their stories to change the world." - Arielle T. Parkas, Dramaturg
Presented by Red Productions - In the Upstairs Cabaret at People Lounge 163 Allen Street (Stanton & Rivington)
15 Weeks in 2009
IN THE RED ROOM:
EVERY WOMAN DANCES FOR SOMEONE
A group of remarkable women have given their stories to a playwright -- life stories, personal stories, breakthrough stories. Red Productions is developing this play in the Upstairs Cabaret at People Lounge.
Written and Directed by Gordon Farrell
Associate Director/Co-Producer, Tatiana Gelfand
Assistant Producer, Matthew MacKey
Additonal Direction, Morgan Lennon
PSM/Dramaturg, Arielle Parkas
Stage Manager, Adam Kerbel
Production Assistants, Jason Dibelius & Chelsea
Clarke
"'In The Red Room: Every Woman/Dances For Someone' starts off with an invitation. It is a cordial summoning, calmly echoed by a chorus of eight women circling the stage in a provocative, dance-like manner. Like sirens, the women snare us almost immediately, but we stay in their world, ironically, because they appear to offer escape. The play, written by Gordon Farrell, tells the true stories of eight women whom he has known throughout his life. Each story's speaker commands full attention as she shares her secrets. Stories of heartbreak, helplessness and crises of faith intertwine to form a cycle of self-discovery and reinvention. The stage is bare except for two movable boxes and eight chairs. As each character speaks, the rest of the characters sit and watch attentively, at times even laughing and reacting along with the audience. Together, they create an atmosphere of vulnerability and honesty, a space of healing for all to see." - Julia Pugachevsky, Washington Square News
"Gordon Farrell has taken the phrase 'everyone has a story tell literally' in his new play, 'In The Red Room: Every Woman/Dances For Someone.' The most shocking thing about the play is the slow realization that the characters tales were not the author's fictional creation, but true stories from real women; this is where the show finds its power. The production is deceptively simple; the set is marked in tape, the women's costumes are a study of black and red, with the only adornment a set of wooden boxes. I was moved." - Tricia Couture, Cheap Chick In The City at blogspot.com
Premier Workshop Production
- February 2009
Featuring: Amanda Baker, Vanessa Guarino, Faith
Roberson, Cori Ryan, Kasey Ryan, Paula Turanec, Alexandra de Suze
2nd Workshop Production-Rewritten and Revised
- May through June 2009
Featuring: Diana Avellino, Bethaney
Bagley, Lori Feiler, Matthew Hamm, Lynn McCune, Lauren Novak, Keke Regele, Cori Ryan, Eeva Semerdjiev
3rd Workshop Production-Rewritten and Revised
- October through November 2009
Featuring: Diana Avellino, Bethaney
Bagley, Jordana De La Cruz, Jason Dibelius, Lori Feiler, Milena Gardasevic, Matthew Hamm, Shoshana McCallum, Lynn McCune, Lauren Novak, Cori Ryan
4th Workshop Production-Rewritten and Revised - A staged reading presented January 12, 2010
Directed by Tawnya Foskett. With: Diana Avellino, Bethaney Bagley, Mark Byrne, Amanda Garberich, Ashley Kuske, Kyle Masteller, Kathryn Maykish, Aria McKenna, Gayle Robbins
LA SOIREE ROUGE
La Soiree Rouge is our flagship party, the main social nexus of Red Productions, and a salon that is open to the public -- in the style of classic artists' gatherings of elegant eras gone by. Here we bring together artists, dancers, musicians, poets, writers, photographers, and all the discontented demimonde to drink, dance, and share their work.
Some of the extraordinary New York swing era jazz groups who have performed are:
Miss Sarah Hayes and the Prohibition Playboys
John Kozan and Double Down
Stacee Mandeville and Black Coffee
The Virginia Marcs Jazz Ensemble
The Lisa Hearns Jazz Trio
Artists, writers, singers, and poets whose work has been featured include:
New York City slam poet, Mark Nilsen
The one-woman show of Alexandra de Suze
"Far From It," a one-act comedy by Lauren Novak
Opera arias by Miss Brooke Edwards and Virginia Marcs
"Dirk Dick and the Cheap Trinket of Doom," a one-act comedy by Gordon Farrell
"The Impossible Demonstration," a short film by Jon Cazares
At La Soiree Rouge, there is no cover charge and no minimum. We just want the pleasure of your company!
Requested attire: Night club black, evening wear, or vintage. A touch of red preferred.
Stay tuned for news of the next La Soiree Rouge!